Bible Study Notes: Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas

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Cross, Psalms, St. Gregory Palamas

For those of you who followed this blog over this past Advent Fast, you will already be a bit familiar with St. Gregory Palamas. As much as I adore him, even I have to admit that he can be a bit impenetrable at times; however, his import on the second Sunday of Lent can be easily summarized. In the 14th century, there was a philosopher named Barlaam who claimed that philosophers knew more about God than prophets and that contemplative prayer was a waste of time because God is unknowable. St. Gregory argued against Barlaam’s claim by insisting that all Christians are capable of participating in the uncreated light of God’s divine glory even in this life through the ascetic practices of prayer and fasting (to which I would also add almsgiving). In other words, our own ascetic endeavors during this time of Lent are not in vain.

This week we started contemplating St. Gregory’s import by examining the Gospel Reading (Mark 2:1-2):

• It was noted the importance of the faith of the friends of the paralytic. They didn’t tell him that he should go and see Jesus, they physically took him to Jesus.
• We compared this to the concept of “Come and See” vs. “Go and See.” The former requires that we are actively involved in and present at Church. We are saying “come to the place that I am” rather than “go to that place over there.”
• Note that the factor that Christ highlights is the faith if the friends, not the paralytic. Our faith, our prayers and our presence in Church is vital to the health, not just of ourselves, but of those around us.
• This pericope highlights the reality that the Church is a hospital that heals us both in body and in soul. The friends of the paralytic brought him to the best hospital for the best medicine available to him — Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ.
• Note how the path to get their friend to Christ was not easy. There path was blocked and they had to go to the great effort of lowering him in through the roof — not unlike our ascetic practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
• Finally, note the very first thing Christ heals the paralytic from — his sins. In other words, sin (our separation from God) is the cause of all the world’s problems, diseases, etc.

In discussing the Epistle Reading (Hebrews 1:10-2:3), we focused primarily on St. Paul’s quotation of Psalm 109:1

Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.

and Hebrews 2:1

Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

The first part of Psalm 109:1 states, “The Lord said to my Lord” where the word “Lord” is a title for God. In other words, “God said to my God.” It is one of the explicit OT references to a Trinitarian existence within the Godhead. Thus, the Father is telling the Son these things. One of the verses for the Lauds sung next week (the Veneration of the Holy Cross) is this:

Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of His feet; for He is holy.

In other words, the Church understands that Christ’s footstool is the Cross. Therefore:

• That which we have heard is the Apostolic kerygma — Christ Crucified and Risen.
• We cannot escape crucifixion — without the Cross we cannot have the Resurrection.
• We are anticipating next Sunday (the Veneration of the Holy Cross).
• The easiest way to deny ourselves and pick up our Cross is to pray, fast and give alms (thus tying back to St. Gregory Palamas).

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Bringing a little St. Gregory Palamas into my Life

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Cain, Sin, St. Gregory Palamas

Recently, St. Gregory Palamas has let me know through various means that he wants to me to get to know him. I decided to begin this endeavor by reading his homilies and already he is becoming a real inspiration. I wanted to share a passage from his second homily because it puts into words far better than I can an explanation of Genesis 4:7 in context of Christ. Cain is contemplating the murder of his brother Abel when God confronts him:

If you are doing right, surely you ought to hold your head high! But if you are not doing right, Sin is crouching at the door hungry to get you. You can still master him.’

I take great strength from this passage. Even when all seems dark and hopeless, we have the power to overcome sin! How much more so now that we have our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ:

The unseen patron of evil is full of evil ingenuity. Right at the beginning he can drag away, by means of hopelessness and lack of faith, the foundations of virtue already laid in the soul. Again, by means of indifference and laziness, he can make an attempt on the walls of virtue’s house just when they are being built up. Or he can bring down the roof of good works after its construction, by means of pride and madness. But stand firm, do not be alarmed, for a diligent man is even more ingenious in good things, and virtue has superior forces to deploy against evil. It has at its disposal supplies and support in battle from Him who is all-powerful, who in His goodness strengthens all lovers of virtue. So not only can virtue remain unshaken by various wicked devices prepared by the enemy, but it can also lift up and restore those fallen into the depths of evil, and easily lead them to God by repentance and humility. — St.Gregory Palamas, Homily II

Amen!

Some Finals Thoughts and a New Beginning

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Psalm 1, Psalms, St. Athanasius, St. Hilary

This is the fourth year that I have posted everyday on the writings of one of the Fathers for the 40 days of the Nativity Fast. This is the first year that I really enjoyed myself. Not that I found Sts. Leo the Great, Gregory Palamas or Ambrose of Milan any less enlightening than St. Hilary of Poitiers, but, rather, I believe I have found a format that best suits me for doing a project like this. Going through every paragraph of St. Hilary’s Homily on the First Psalm and analyzing it made the discipline of writing every day less of a chore than my past attempts at this. Rather, it was something I was able to look forward to.

In addition, St. Hilary was enlightening, challenging and not a little surprising. His exegesis on judgement was not something I expected, but was a fresh (ironic word, I know, for something written almost 1600 years ago) and encouraging vision of Judgement Seat. Not to mention, he is on solid Scriptural ground when he makes his point.

The other dramatic interpretation that St. Hilary makes (and one I find very useful) is his insistence that the speaker of the Psalm is the Prophet and the person he is speaking to is us. The image of the blessed and happy man meditating upon the Law day and night contrasted with both the ungodly and the sinner is an excellent introduction to the Psalms.

Indeed, it is an encouragement for those of us who are sinners. For, what better way to introduce ourselves to the Law and the path of righteousness than by reading the Psaltery? I reiterate, according to the Orthodox Christian monastic rule, the entire Psaltery is read every week and during Great Lent it is read twice a week.

This repetition brings familiarity. And since, as St. Athanasius in his Letter to Marcellinus points out, the Psaltery has everything else that we find in the rest of Scripture: History, God’s commands and Prophecy. In addition (and this is not the first or last time I will use this quote), Athanasius states:

among all the books, the Psalter has certainly a very special grace, a choiceness of quality well worthy to be pondered; for, besides the characteristics which it shares with [other parts of Scripture], it has this peculiar marvel of its own, that within it are represented and portrayed in all their great variety the movements of the human soul. It is like a picture, in which you see yourself portrayed, and seeing, may understand and consequently form yourself upon the pattern given.

In other words, it is very easy to see ourselves, our current situation and our emotions all within the Psaltery and within the framework of the rest of Scripture.

Thus, the Psaltery is one of our main tools when it comes to helping us meditate upon the Law day and night by making our entire life a prayer. If we constantly refer and compare our life to the Psalms, into which we can see ourselves, our situation and our emotional state, we are meditating upon the Law day and night. We step onto the path to become that blessed and happy man.

To that end, I will continue with this format and with St. Hilary, who has left us with homilies on Psalm 53(54) and Psalm 130 (131), although I will ease up on the pace. I realize this is the same promise I made last year (and failed to keep); however, I have found that this format is very easy for me to keep up with. Therefore, I feel confident that there will be at least one new post per week from me over the course of the next year.

I will begin with Psalm 130(131). It is one of the shorter Psalms in the Psaltery and therefore won’t overwhelm anyone (especially me). Besides, Psalm 53(54) is a good meditation for approaching Great Lent. Since we are about to embark upon a season of celebration, it felt out of place.

So, pray for me, pray that St. Hilary intercedes and may we all have a blessed Christmas. Amen.

What is Spirituality?

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Christmas, Holy Spirit, St. Ambrose

It is that time of year again when the good folks over at the Preacher’s Institute are encouraging Orthodox Christian priests to blog for 30(40) days during the Nativity Fast. I have endeavored to participate the last two years and have found the exercise to be quite productive, even if the audience is small. I have also been grossly negligent of this particular corner of the blogosphere, so this is an opportunity for me to correct that failure.

Recently, I participated in an interfaith spiritual retreat on the campus of Milliken University. I was asked to be on a panel with representatives from a wide variety of faith backgrounds to discuss the question: What is Spirituality? As an Orthodox Christian, I cannot answer this question without first answering the question: Who is God?

The Orthodox Church has long had a tradition of answering this latter question with dogma — brief summary statements about what God has revealed about Himself to us. One such statement that all Orthodox Christians are quite familiar with is the Nicene Creed. For the purposes of defining spirituality, I wish to concentrate on another famous dogmatic statement: God is one in essence and in three persons (hypostasis).

The characteristics that differentiates these three persons are that God the Father is Unbegotten, God the Son is Begotten and God the Spirit Proceeds. In His procession, the Holy Spirit is the contact point for humanity with God — He is the source of our communion with God.

When God created humanity:

The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being (Gen. 2:7).

The word spirit also means breath, or wind. Thus, we were created by God breathing His Spirit in us.

It is the Holy Spirit that inspired the men and women that wrote, translated and redacted the OT. It was the Holy Spirit that descended upon the Virgin Mary at the conception of Christ. It was the Holy Spirit that descended upon Christ at His baptism. It was the Holy Spirit that led Christ into the desert for forty day in preparation for His earthly ministry. It was the Holy Spirit that descended upon the Apostles as tongues of fire at Pentecost. It is the Holy Spirit Himself with which every Orthodox Christian is sealed with at their chrismation. It is the Holy Spirit that descends upon the gifts to make them the Body and Blood of Christ.

Therefore, spirituality — given its root in the word spirit — is living a life participating with and in the Holy Spirit. This, of course, is most fully accomplished in context of the life of the Church.

This might seem a strange approach to begin a series of blog posts in preparation for the Nativity; however, we must remember that without the Holy Spirit there is no Incarnation. In addition, I believe that the Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood and neglected person of the Trinity in modern Christendom (particularly here in the United States). Therefore, I would like to explore the person of the Holy Spirit, especially in context of the Incarnation.

To that end, as I have done the last two years, I will be spending time with one of the Fathers of the Church. When it comes to treatises on the Holy Spirit, there are several famous examples to choose from — On the Holy Spirit by St. Basil, for example. As is my want, however, I have used this time to get to know St. Leo the Great and St. Gregory Palamas — not exactly the first guys that come to mind when one starts to list famous fathers of the Church. As such, I will be reading and writing about the Three Books On the Holy Spirit by St. Ambrose of Milan. I pray that this path proves as edifying for you as I hope it is for me. Amen.

For Those Who Are Interested…

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Christmas, Father, Lord's Prayer, St. Gregory Palamas

Here are the two paragraphs from St. Gregory Palamas’ Homily Fifty-Eight on the Saving Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord and God and Savior that I did not get to during the 30/40 day Blogging Challenge:

15. Brethren, let us preserve this peace in ourselves as far as we can, for we have received it as an inheritance from our Savior who has now been born, who gives us the Spirit of adoption, through which we have become heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ (if Rom. 8:I5, 17). Let us be at peace with God, doing those things which are well-pleasing to Him, living chastely, telling the truth, behaving righteously, “continuing in prayer and supplication” (cf Acts 1:14), “singing and making melody in our heart” (cf Eph. 5:19), not just with our lips. Let us be at peace with ourselves, by subjecting our flesh to our spirit, choosing to conduct ourselves according to our conscience, and having the inner world of our thoughts motivated by good order and purity. Thus we shall put an end to the civil conflict in our own midst. Let us be at peace with one another, “forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you” (Col. 3:13), and showing mercy to each other out of mutual love, just as Christ, solely for love of us, had mercy on us and for our sake came down to us. Then, recalled from the sinful fall through His help and grace, and lifted high above this world by virtues, we may have our citizenship in heavenly places (cf Phil. 3:20), whence also we wait for our hope (cf Rom. 8:23), redemption from corruption and enjoyment of celestial and eternal blessings as children of the heavenly Father.

16. May we all attain to this, at the future glorious advent and epiphany of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom belongs glory unto the ages. Amen.

Lest we forget that we have been adopted as children by God the Father through the Incarnation of Christ, the Church reminds us every Christmas:

Brethren, when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir of God through Christ. — Galatians 4:4-7

We manifest this reality every time we do the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Indeed, we are called to boldly call God Father:

And make us worthy, Master, with confidence and without fear of condemnation, to dare call You, the heavenly God, FATHER — Divine Liturgy

Let us all spend this coming year, basking in the reality of Christ’s Nativity by boldly standing in the presence of God and calling Him Abba, Father. Amen.

God’s Good Will

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Christmas, St. Gregory Palamas, Theotokos, Worship

13· But what is the cause of this praise from men and angels together and this much-extolled good news which so gladdens the shepherds and all men? “Behold”, it says, “I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). What does this mean, and what is this universal joy? Listen to the Gospel song to the end and you will understand. “Peace,” it says, “good will toward men” (Luke 2:14)· For God, who was angry with the human race and subjected it to terrible curses, has come in the flesh, granting His peace and reconciling them to the heavenly Father. Behold, says the hymn, He has not been born for us angels, though now that we see Him on earth we extol Him as we do in heaven, but for you men, that is to sav, for your sake and in accordance with your nature a Saviour is born, Chris; the Lord, in the city of David.

14· What is meant by linking God’s good will with peace? “Peace”, it says, “good will toward men”. There were times before when He gave signs of peace to men. To Moses “the Lord spake, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exod. 33:n); and He found David a man after His own heart (1 Sam. 13:14, Acts 13:22); and He granted tokens of peace to the whole Jewish nation when He came down upon the mountain for their sake and spoke to them through fire and the thick dark cloud (Exod. 19:9, 16-18, Deut. 4:10-11), but not according to His good pleasure. For good will refers to that which is in and of itself well-pleasing, the original and perfect will of God. It was not the original and perfect will of God that He granted benefits, and not even perfect ones, to certain men or to one nation only. That is why, just as God called many people His sons, but there is only one in whom He was well-pleased (cf Matt. 3:I7; 17:5), so He gave His peace on many occasions, but only once accompanied by His good pleasure, which He grants, perfect and unchanging, through the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ to every race and to as many as desire it. — St. Gregory Palamas, Homily Fifty-Eight on the Saving Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord and God and Savior

God does not desire for His creation to be separated from Him. He does not desire us to be subject to the terrible curses of decay, disease, pain and death. He does not desire to be angry with us. It is His Good Will to be well pleased that Christ has taken on all our humanity so that we might be with Him — that we have the means to enjoy His eternity. He never desired only a few chosen to enjoy his favors. He never desired for only one nation to be with Him to eternity. His wish is for all people of all nations to have access to Him. We have this in and through the Incarnation of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ:

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. — Galatians 3:28

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord as we declare this present mystery. The middle wall of partition is broken asunder; the flaming sword is turned back, the Cherubim withdraw from the Tree of Life, and I partake of the Paradise of Delight, whence I was cast out before through disobedience. For the identical Likeness of the Father, the Express Image of His eternity, takes the form of a servant, and without undergoing change He comes forth from a Mother that knew not wedlock. For that which He was, he has remained, even true God; and that which He was not, He has taken upon Himself, becoming man out of love for man. Unto Him let us cry: O God, Who art born of a Virgin, have mercy on us. — Stichera from Great Vespers of Christmas

Amen. Amen. Amen.

Christ is Born Today

Tags

Christmas, Isaiah, Small Entrance, St. Gregory Palamas, Worship

12. And while Isaiah openly foretold these events, the magi worshipped Him in person, bringing gold and frankincense and myrrh (Matt. 2:11, cf Isa. 60:6) to Him who, through death, symbolized by myrrh, grants us divinely inspired life, of which frankincense is an image, and His divine radiance and kingdom, represented by the gold offered to the giver of eternal glory. On account of Him who is born today shepherds stand in the same choir as angels, sing the same hymn, and strike up a melody together. The angels do not take the shepherds’ pipes into their hands, but the shepherds, surrounded by the radiance of the angels’ light, find themselves in the midst of the heavenly host and are taught a heavenly song of praise by the angels, or rather a hymn both heavenly and earthly saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace” (Luke 2:14). Now He who dwells on high and reigns over the celestial heights has the earth as His throne, and is glorified on earth as much as there (cf Isa. 66:1, Acts 7:49), by His saints and His angels alike. — St. Gregory Palamas, Homily Fifty-Eight on the Saving Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord and God and Savior.

Hidden within this explanation of the gifts brought to Christ by the three magi and the song sung by the angels to the shepherds is the word “today.” Within the context of the liturgy, all these things happen now. Palamas is not referring to a re-inactment or a re-living of the event, but, rather, its eternal reality and our participation in it. This reality becomes clear with a close examination of the Divine Liturgy.

Though on a normal Sunday we sing the Antiphons or the Beatitudes at the beginning of liturgy, these things do not begin the liturgy proper — the Small Entrance does. In the architecture of ancient churches, there used to be a kind of out-building where the people would bring the bread for the services and things like the Gospel Book, the Chalice and the Discos were kept. During the chanting of the Antiphons, the people would gather outside the church, next to this out-building. At the Small Entrance, the clergy would collect the Gospel Book and enter into the sanctuary, followed by the people. We still do this in spirit. Note the prayer said by the priest as he takes up the Gospel Book:

Master and Lord our God, You have established in heaven the orders and hosts of angels and archangels to minister to Your glory. Grant that the holy angels may enter with us that together we may serve and glorify Your goodness. For to You belong all glory, honor, and worship to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. — Prayer of the Small Entrance

Note also the first hymn we sing after the Small Entrance, “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!” — a hymn that mimics the angels seen by Isaiah surrounding the Throne of God in the heavens (cf  Isaiah 6:3). With these words, we do not merely place the Gospel Book onto the Holy Table, we enter into a time and space where the Kingdom of Heaven penetrates into the fallen world. Through the grace of God we participate in His time — the eternal now. Thus, this Christmas, we will not merely be remembering the Incarnation of Christ, we will participate in its eternity. We, too, will be able to say “Christ is born today!” Amen.

We Offer to You this Spiritual Worship for the Whole World

Tags

Christmas, Isaiah, Old Testament, St. Gregory Palamas, Worship

11. Why did it hide from them while they were there? To make them, through their enquiries, unsuspecting heralds of Christ who was born at that time according to the flesh. Because they presumed they would learn from the Jews where Christ was to be born according to the sacred prophecies, the divine star left them, teaching us that we should no longer seek to find out about the law and the prophets from the Jews, but rather to seek after the teaching that comes from heaven, lest we be deprived of grace and the outpouring flight from above. When they left Jerusalem, the star appeared again to their delight, and went before them to lead the way, “till it came and stood over where the young child was” (Matt. 2:9), obviously worshipping with them this earthly and heavenly infant. This star first brings the magi as a birthday gift to God, born upon earth, and through them to the whole Assyrian nation, according to the saying of Isaiah: “In those days the Assyrians shall be the first nation for God, and after them the Egyptians, and Israel shall be the third” (cf Isa. 19:23-24), as is now seen coming to pass. For the veneration by the magi was immediately followed by the flight into Egypt (Matt. 2:13), during which He delivered the Egyptians from idols (cf Isa. 19:1), and after His return from there, a nation worthy of God’s possession was chosen from among Israel. — St. Gregory Palamas, Homily Fifty-Eight on the Saving Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord and God and Savior.

I find it very interesting how St. Gregory sees the three Magi in a hypostatic way. By this I mean that as Assyrians, they bring with them the whole Assyrian nation. Though they come as individuals, they share what makes them Assyrian with the rest of that nation — just as Christ is one of the distinct persons of the Trinity but is one in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This particular view of the human being — both as an individual person and as part of the whole race of man — is integral for understanding why the Orthodox Church and what it does it so vital for the world.

Please note this prayer said by the priest just prior to communion [emphasis mine]:

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, hear us from Your holy dwelling place and from the glorious throne of Your kingdom. You are enthroned on high with the Father and are also invisibly present among us. Come and sanctify us, and let Your pure Body and precious Blood be given to us by Your mighty hand and through us to all Your people. — Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostomos, Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

This prayer only makes sense if we understand the human person in a Trinitarian manner. Since we are created in the image and likeness of God, human beings are like the Trinity — we are all distinct individuals, but we also all share our human nature. Thus, when we come before God in order to worship Him and partake of the Body and Blood of Christ we not only stand in His presence as distinct individuals but as humanity as a whole. Thus, our unity with God through our partaking of the eucharist affects the whole as well as the individual in the same way that the three Magi present not only themselves to the Christ child, but the Assyrian nation as a whole. Indeed, they also bring all Gentiles as well.

This understanding can also be seen by the pattern of prayer seen in the Orthodox services. Note how the Great Litany touches upon so many aspects of human experience:

In peace let us pray to the Lord.

For the peace of God and the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.

For peace in the whole world, for the stability of the holy churches of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.

For this holy house and for those who enter it with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.

For our Archbishop (Name), the honorable presbyters, the deacons in the service of Christ, and all the clergy and laity, let us pray to the Lord.

For our country, the president, and all those in public service, let us pray to the Lord.

For this parish and city, for every city and town, and for the faithful who live in them, let us pray to the Lord.

For favorable weather, an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and temperate seasons, let us pray to the Lord.

For travelers by land, sea, and air, for the sick, the suffering, the captives, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and distress, let us pray to the Lord.

Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and protect us, O God, by Your grace.

Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.

This mode of prayer is especially true during the Divine Liturgy. Please note how the Church brings into the presence of God people from all walks of life:

We also offer to You this spiritual worship for the whole world, for the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, and for those living in purity and holiness. And for all those in public service; permit them, Lord, to serve and govern in peace that through the faithful conduct of their duties we may live peaceful and serene lives in all piety and holiness. Remember, Lord, the city in which we live, every city and country, and the faithful who dwell in them. Remember, Lord, the travelers, the sick, the suffering, and the captives, granting them protection and salvation. Remember, Lord, those who do charitable work, who serve in Your holy churches, and who care for the poor. And send Your mercy upon us all. — From the Anaphora of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

From this point of view, the Orthodox Church stands at the front line of the spiritual battle that afflicts the fallen world. She fights not only for Herself, but for all of humanity and, indeed, all of creation. She fulfills her role as the Body of Christ by gathering in order to save everyone, just as Christ Himself went to the cross for all of human kind. Thus, the Divine Liturgy is not just something beautiful that we do one or more times a week for our own edification, it is vital for the salvation of the whole world. Amen.

A Star Shall Rise Out of Jacob

Tags

Christmas, Old Testament, Psalms, Science, St. Gregory Palamas, Worship

10. And look forthwith at the symbols of this ineffable union and the resulting benefit poured out even upon those far away. A star accompanies the magi (Matt. 2:2-10): coming to a halt when they do, and travelling with them when they move on, or rather, drawing them and inviting them to the road, as their leader escorting them on their journey. It offers itself as their guide when they are on the move, and when they rest awhile it permits them to do so, and itself stays in its place, lest deserting them it should grieve them by its absence, seeming to abandon its role as guide before journey’s end. For it caused them considerable distress by concealing itself from them when they approached Jerusalem. — St. Gregory Palamas, Homily Fifty-Eight on the Saving Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord and God and Savior.

As modern human beings, we are both blessed and cursed. We are blessed because, unlike those generation before us, we reap the benefit of scientific achievement. Our lives as we live them today were unthinkable even ten or fifteen years ago because of technology (take, for example, the fact that you are reading this blog right now).

We are cursed, because, with such a heavy reliance upon the fruits of science, we tend to narrow our understanding of creation to the scientific world-view. Thus, when St. Gregory starts to personify the star from the story of the Nativity — as something that stops and starts as it guides the three magi — our scientific world-view balks at the idea and is tempted to not only dismiss the idea, but to dismiss Palamas as someone who is inferior and unsophisticated for saying such a thing.

Not only is such a dismissal unfairly anachronistic (St. Gregory’s body of scientific knowledge is radically different from ours), but it fails to appreciate how poetic and Scriptural such a view actually is. Please note how Psalm 148 sees creation:

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike, old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!

Note how the Psalmist personifies all of creation. This is something a purely scientific world-view would dismiss. Also note how the Church follows the pattern of Psalm 148 and personifies creation in its hymns:

What shall we offer You, O Christ? for You appeared on earth as a man for our sakes. Of all the creatures made by You, each offers You thanksgiving. The Angels offer You the hymn; the Heavens, the star, the Magi their gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; the earth, her cave; the wilderness, the manger; and we offer You a Virgin Mother. O God, Who was before the ages, have mercy on us. — Stichera from the Great Vespers of Christmas

This understanding of the participation of nature in the story of salvation allows us to see that God had chosen to use the star, not only to guide the three magi to the Christ child, but us as well:

A star shall rise out of Jacob — Numbers 24:17

“I have begotten you from the womb before the morning star” — Psalm 109:3

Amen.

The Fountain of Life

Tags

Christmas, Holy Spirit, Old Testament, St. Athanasius, St. Gregory Palamas, Trinity

9. If He had been born from seed, He would not have been a new man and, being part of the old stock, and inheriting that fall, He would not have been able to receive the fullness of the incorruptible Godhead in Himself and become an inexhaustible source of hallowing. And so, not only would He not have been able to cleanse, with abundance of power, our forefathers’ defilement caused by sin, but neither would He have been sufficient to sanctify those who came later. Just as water stored in a tank would not be sufficient to provide a large city with enough to drink continuously but would require its own spring, so that it is never surrendered to the enemy on account of thirst; in the same way, neither a man nor a holy angel who, by sharing ingrace, had the ability to make things holy, would suffice to sanctify everyone at all times. But creation needed a well containing its own spring, that those who drew near it and drank their full might remain undefeated by the attacks of weaknesses and deprivations inherent in the created world. So neither an angel nor a man, but the Lord Himself came and saved us, being made a man like us for our sake, and continuing unchanged as God. Building now the new Jerusalem, raising up a temple for Himself with living stones (Eph. 2:20-21, cf 1 Pet. 2:5), and gathering us into a holy and worldwide Church, He sets in its foundation, which is Christ (cf 1 Cor. 3:11), the ever-flowing fount of grace. For the Lord’s eternal fullness of life, the all-wise and omnipotent divine nature, is made one with human nature, which was led astray through lack of counsel, enslaved to the evil one out of weakness, and laid in the deepest caverns of Hades for want of divine life, that the Lord might instill into it wisdom and power and freedom and unfailing life. — St. Gregory Palamas, Homily Fifty-Eight on the Saving Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord and God and Savior.

In order to really appreciate what St. Gregory is saying here, one must understand that the word “Christ” is applicable to several people in the OT. It means “anointed one.” Thus, King David is a Christ, for example, because he was anointed by Samuel (1 Sam 16:13). What makes Jesus Christ different from all of the other anointed ones throughout history is that He is God as well as man. In this way — and only in this way — can Jesus be our Savior.

St. Gregory’s imagery of a well with a spring that creation might drink of it is not unique. It is imagery that can be found in Scripture and other Fathers of the Church have picked up on this. In writing to his friend Serapion in defense of the divinity of the Holy Spirit, St. Athanasius points out that throughout Scripture, there are certain metaphors that are consistently used to describe the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These metaphors help us understand that God is in three distinct persons while remaining one God. One of these metaphors is a fountain.

The Father is called a fountain:

they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. — Jeremiah 2:13

You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom. — Baruch 3:12

The Son is called river:

You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. — Psalm 65:9

The Holy Spirit is called drink:

For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. — 1 Corinthians 12:13

Thus, each person of the Godhead is distinct — fountain, river, drink; however, they cannot essentially exists on their own without the others. A fountain is not a fountain without a flow of water that can be drunk. Thus the three are one.

This metaphor, then, allows us to understand that Jesus Christ is different than all other anointed ones. He is the living water that flows from the fountain that is the Father. Through Him we are able to drink of the Holy Spirit and thus participate in God Himself. Without this reality, humanity cannot be saved.